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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · charge · prune · field · straw · stand · branch · tear

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stand — to bear
  3. branch — a division
  4. tear — to rip
  5. field — farmland
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bear — the animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. charge — in control
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com